On Monday night, BBC Three will show a documentary presented by Amal Fashanu, in which she aims to discover why there are currently no openly gay professional footballers in Britain. Shrouded under dark-age mindsets combined with the fear of being isolated and exiled, it has long been a taboo subject in the game. The presenter, Amal, is significant. She is the niece of footballer Justin Fashanu who committed suicide in 1998, eight years after publicly coming out. How is one of the most iconic pastimes in popular culture so out of touch with the changing attitudes spreading across the rest of society?

Over the years, footballers have been queuing up to affiliate themselves with anti-racism campaigns. In 2010 however, the FA couldn’t get a single top-flight player to promote a video aimed at discouraging anti-gay chants. It may be considered a breakthrough then that Amal Fashanu managed to interview one. And she didn’t get any old player, she got Premier League rogue turned social media activist – Joey Barton.

Associating a high-profile figure, with his reputation, to a documentary about homophobia in football can only do wonders for bringing the game into the 21^st century. In it he says: “In the next ten years we will have an openly gay footballer”. Despite admiring his optimism, I’m not sure I agree though. He himself expresses concern over how this player may be treated by “archaic figures” rooted within the sport.

Rugby player Gareth Thomas and cricketer Steven Davies both revealed they were gay in the last few years and were accepted by team mates and fans. What prevents players from doing this in football? Well, there are prejudices so deeply embedded that publicist Max Clifford confesses he’s advised some top-flight players to keep their sexuality secret or their “careers would be finished”. The fact that the 2022 World Cup is being hosted by Qatar where homosexuality is illegal is also a backwards step.

Some hope can be given, as research conducted by Staffordshire University of more than 3 500 fans, players and referees show that 91 percent of respondents believe that “only a player’s performance on the pitch is relevant”. Maybe it is too easily presumed that the reaction from fans and team mates would be a barrier preventing any player from coming out?

Discrimination is unacceptable and football will slowly improve. This documentary won’t change things, but it will highlight the issue and maybe identify where the problem lies. Once football clubs and players become comfortable talking about it, then we may see progress, but it will take longer than 10 years. And if not, at least we can all respect Joey Barton a little more.